The skinny guy at Fat Bear Week

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The arrival of Fat Bear Week marks a joyous occasion on the Internet. It is a welcome distraction from life’s troubles. It is a time to appreciate nature, even though the nature you are appreciating is thousands of miles away in one of the most difficult-to-reach national parks in the United States.

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You might be wondering, “What is Fat Bear Week, anyway?” It is a single elimination tournament from September 29 to October 5 between grizzly bears in Katmai National Park and Reserve that are getting fat for the winter. The last two beefy contenders battle it out in the final (on the internet, not in real life) for the Fattest Bear title on Fat Bear Tuesday.

Fans can vote every day between 12 p.m. M. And 9 p.m. M. Eastern time to determine which Brooks River bears have done the best job feasting on sockeye salmon.

But the week has become much more than an online competition, according to those involved.

“Fat Bear Week is truly a celebration of success and survival,” said Lian Law, Katmai Visual Information Specialist. “We really highlight the resilience and adaptability of bears here.”

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The growth of the event rivals that of the girth of the bears it celebrates. In 2019, more than 200,000 votes were cast in the competition. Last year, that number increased to more than 600,000.

“I didn’t expect it to grow as much as it has,” said Mike Fitz, a resident naturalist from explore.org, who helped start the increasingly popular competition while working as a Katmai National Park ranger. The first iteration of the competition took place in 2014 as a single day event. It was so well received that Fitz expanded the concept to give people what they wanted: more fat bear content and fanfare.

“First of all, there is no wrong way to celebrate Fat Bear Week,” Law said. But for the most enthusiastic fans, participation goes far beyond voting for their favorite fat bear. Here are more ways to get involved this year.

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Get deeper into the competition

Stacey Schmeidel, the university’s communications director who volunteered at Katmai in 2018 and 2019, said meeting the bears is the most rewarding part of the event. Before her time as a volunteer, she developed a love for bears by watching bear cameras.

Rather than just wondering if Otis is indeed the fattest, “what is Otis’s story?” Schmeidel said he would ponder it. “What obstacles did Otis have to overcome?”

To invest in contenders, start at explore.org’s Fat Bear Week site.

“We have a lot of events posted on BearCam during that week that we encourage the public to tune in,” Law said. “You can ask questions during a live question and answer chat on YouTube, we have a special Fat Bear Week game- per game, which tends to be a favorite. It is essentially a sports commentary on what we see live on BearCam. “.

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Then there’s Fitz’s book, “The Bears of Brooks Falls,” which is loved by competition enthusiasts and will give you more context on bears and their environment.

Campaign for your favorite contender

If you fall in love with a particular competitor, let your loyalty be known.

The largest Fat Bear Week fan campaign for your favorites by posting about them online, joining the Fat Bear Week Bracket Tournament Facebook group, and creating campaign memes and posters for your chosen bear. They record original songs and dances, or rewrite popular songs to show their support. Some change their profile photos to the photo of their contender.

“There are fans who show their creativity, enthusiasm and humor in ways that are truly incredible,” Law said.

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Channel your inner fat bear

Fat Bear Week super fans get into the spirit by channeling grizzly bears. They eat salmon berry pie and drink honey beer. They bake bear claw cookies and bear claw cakes, and decorate bear cookies with the names of their favorite competitor.

Beyond eating and drinking, some fans make hairstyles with “bear hair”, forming two buns on the top of the head to resemble bear ears. Others make Fat Bear playlists to share with each other.

Plan a trip

Those seriously hooked on Fat Bear Week can take their fandom to the next level by visiting Katmai National Park to see bears in real life. Fitz said he has “met many, many people who discovered Katmai National Park through webcams and perhaps also through Fat Bear Week,” who end up making the pilgrimage to the remote destination in Alaska.

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It is not an easy or cheap task. One of the most difficult national parks to get to, Katmai is only accessible by plane or a combination of plane and boat. Bear viewing tours can also be very expensive.

That hasn’t stopped people like Schmeidel and others from making their Brooks Falls dreams come true. Fitz’s advice is to plan a trip as far in advance as possible, not just for financial reasons, but also because it’s incredibly competitive to book a place to stay. Some travelers have reduced the cost of the trip by camping rather than staying in a hostel.

Fat Bear Week Host Schedule

While Fat Bear Week can be enjoyed on its own, fans love the camaraderie of the competition.

Many host virtual and in-person BearCam watch parties. Fat Bear Week gambling pools are popular with the proceeds sometimes going to a charitable endeavor like the Katmai Conservancy. Some people even make a trophy for whoever guesses the winning bear of the year.

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Teachers can share explore.org Fat Bear Week resume with your classes. “We do a talk where we encourage teachers to submit student questions ahead of time, and then we will answer them in a talk and give the school a shout out,” Law said. “So it’s really a good way for educators to get involved as well.”

The more people learn about bears, during Fat Bear Week or at any time of the year, the better, Law said. It’s an important way to start conversations about national parks and conservation.

“It really raises awareness about its ecosystem,” Law said. “We have these bears from Brooks and the Brooks area as an exemplary illustration of a healthy ecosystem … So, yes, we are celebrating the success of these bears, but it is also important not to forget that not all bears and all those places are so lucky. “